Encoded contributions (for sales)

[Guest]

Hi all,

 

Some (simple) contributions for oscommerce are sold encoded. So if you look into the source you will see code like as in an SSL certificate.

 

First if everybody sold his software in this way, you could not develop anymore, you are depended to death from that person and could not change anything for other reasons. I personnaly find this a very bad thing, and contributions are build on open source, so why encode it ? Is it not enough you get your money for the development and give the source too with the restriction you may not publish it ...

 

Is there a way to decode them easily so you can check the source and there is no hackers code inside it ?

[Guest]

Francois,

 

Topics like this are rarely discussed on here. But if you google base 64 eval you will get more information on the encoding.

 

 

 

 

Chris

[♥toyicebear]

If they are encoded using commercial software, ie. requires Ioncubes or Zend installed on the server to run, then you will probably not be able to encode them unless you have the developers encryption key.

Edited January 30, 2010 by toyicebear

[Jack_mcs]

Some (simple) contributions for oscommerce are sold encoded. So if you look into the source you will see code like as in an SSL certificate.

If they are encoded, they are not contributions since that is not allowed. If you've found such a contribution in the Addons section, you should report it. If it is some code someone wrote and encoded it, then you need to trust that they are legitimate. Many such packages are but I'm sure, like with all things, there are some low-life's out there just waiting to do damage. You can't usually decode such code since that would defeat the purpose. And the purpose, in most cases, is to protect the programmers work.

[Guest]

If they are encoded, they are not contributions since that is not allowed. If you've found such a contribution in the Addons section, you should report it. If it is some code someone wrote and encoded it, then you need to trust that they are legitimate. Many such packages are but I'm sure, like with all things, there are some low-life's out there just waiting to do damage. You can't usually decode such code since that would defeat the purpose. And the purpose, in most cases, is to protect the programmers work.

 

Thanks for all the answers.

 

No Jack it is indeed no contribution (it is but the creator made a professional one based on his own contribution probably, probably some things changed).

 

But I find this a bad progress.

 

All software developed is based on open source (so you use always parts from others), and indeed if it is your main income you develop not for free also not extended things for oscommmerce or installing contributions (workhours and knowledge!). And if you will take your chance based on open software to sell a module created (with knowledge form others) ok, say you may not publish it, you can sell enough to people they don't have knowlegde at all in programming, but to encode it I feel it is not right. If there was no open software, so the builder has to write everything by his own, he/she could probably not develop his module. I feel it is taking from others whan you can, and then finally protect in an obsessive way your part (so you can't check what you picked from others for free). Ok if you had written a whole webshop by your own, I can understand. But if everybody should pickup ideas from others and extend it with your own ideas and encode it, that would be the end for developers because you can't work with it, you can't change the software, it would be to complicated especialy in open software.

 

I find this way of working very very selfish. If you build something totally on his own, it's ok for me (ok it is not the open software idea).

 

Ok this is just my opinion and have not more to say, but I hope this will not be the future ... just stop in that case with the open software idea ...